Forum:Past-tense vs present-tense
Should articles be written in past-tense or in present-tense? I've wrote my articles in the past-tense, and have always been doing so. I feel that this should be the policy since Star Wars is "a long time ago." Anything that happens on Star Wars MUSH, by Star Wars logic, has already happened. That's just my opinion. What do you guys think? --74.68.17.86 02:20, 7 October 2006 (UTC) *Sorry, that was me. --Danik Kreldin 02:20, 7 October 2006 (UTC) **I'm open to present tense. I mean... you pose in what you're doing right now in present tense even though it's "a long time ago". And I'm not adverse to the idea of current events taking a present tense perspective. I'm not sure that anything is really GAINED by sticking to past only, so... why bother? -- Mahon 04:15, 7 October 2006 (UTC) ***Actually, I've always posed in past-tense on the MUSH ;p But I guess that's just me. Meh. --74.68.17.86 04:45, 7 October 2006 (UTC) **I'm an advocate for past tense, but I do admit I have written in both. The reason I push so strongly for past tense is because this is an encyclopedia, not a blog or piece of cliffhanger fiction. There are no spoilers here. I can't stand seeing the phrase "check back for more details" or "updates to come" — either the information should be there, or it isn't. -- Hawke / Rtufo 12:44, 7 October 2006 (UTC) ***I agree with the "check back for more details" points, but I think the argument against has more to do with neutral point of view and tone (SW1ki is a reference tool, not a blog). -- Xerxes 15:08, 7 October 2006 (UTC) ** I don't think it's one or the other. I don't buy into the "a long time ago" argument, nor do I think 'Encylopedia' necessarily equals 'past tense'. I can jump over to Wikipedia and read about how the [[Wikipedia:United_States_of_America|United States **is** a country]]. In Universe articles should be written from a neutral, In Universe point of view, not our point of view looking back. The MUSH is happening now. It's not one long flashback. It has a past, present, and future. I think most articles are going to be about things that have already happened (timelines, notable events, character histories, etc.), so past tense is going to be most common. However, if something is on-going or currently happening, use present tense, e.g. The Empire and New Republic '''are' at war''. -- Xerxes 15:08, 7 October 2006 (UTC) ***Maybe I'm just a bit biased at this juncture because I'm still elbow-deep in changing all of the Griffons material over from first-person, active-voice, present-tense to past tense. Ugh. With that in mind, I can accept present tense, but it must be done in third-person, neutral point of view. Any occurances of "I" or "we" are immediately struck and and the sentence changed to be third-person, "reportive" in style... like an encyclopedia, and a not a recruitment flyer. And that has been a considerable challenge to this Wiki in particular... I'm sure there are still several players in the playerbase that consider the Wiki like any other webpage — for either blogging or as a means of recruiting. (And yes, two names immediately come to mind) -- Hawke / Rtufo 15:31, 7 October 2006 (UTC) Consensus It looks to me like the consensus (by a margin of 3 to 1) is that present tense should be used as detailed above. -- Xerxes 15:55, 17 October 2006 (UTC)